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Carbulance: the ultimate mobile workshop
by Mike Ruff, GW Editor
GW chats with Kevin Thompson, owner of Carbulance in Herne Bay, to find out how he's attracted so much attention on social media. IT’S A given that workshops should have a strong online presence, but maintaining a steady flow of witty posts on your Facebook and Twitter feeds can be a time-consuming task when you’re a small business and even more so if you’re a one-man-band like Kevin. Speak to any marketer and they will tell you that it’s all about brand awareness – almost like
“...a subliminal message for prospective customers...” a subliminal message for prospective customers that will remember the amusing meme that you posted when the service light illuminates on their car. So, what if your social media presence could be boosted by others who freely decide to promote your business to their friends, family and local community for you? That’s exactly what Kevin achieved with his Carbulance, an ex-ambulance converted into the ultimate mobile workshop. Inside is a workbench, toolboxes housing
specialist tools and equipment, lights and even a heater – a luxury the majority of mobile mechanics can only dream of. “Having an ambulance really made a difference because it’s a mobile workshop, my workshop went to my customers,” Kevin explains. It attracts attention too. Search for Carbulance on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and you’ll find pictures and comments about Kevin’s van posted by those that happened to see it out and about. Complete with Carbulance livery, Kevin’s van does very much look like an ambulance. “On a number of occasions, I had people run up to me because somebody had been injured or had an accident or something while I was working,” he told me. Luckily for them, Kevin went to college and gained qualifications as an emergency care assistant. “I carry a defib and a full first aid kit so I can jump out of the van, put my other hat on, clean my hands and treat someone until an actual ambulance turns up,” he added.
Where it began Kevin, who had served in the army for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers from 1987, returned home from duty in Iraq with an injury which meant he was off work for two years. Later, in 2010 when the recession was still biting hard, he got himself an ex-RAF ambulance and headed out to his first customer as a mobile mechanic. “It was my very first customer that told me I should call it a carbulance and so it stuck,” Kevin recalls.
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